Burrito Mania

A Burrito is the yummiest Mexican food ever. A meal in itself, it comes in a soft flour tortilla and all varieties of fillings but what distinguishes it from a regular wrap is Mexican staples like refried beans, yellow rice and cheese, and maybe topped with salsa, guacamole and sour cream.

The best ones in Ireland that I've come across so far are Acapulco and Taco Taco (Skip Cactus Jacks please). I recently tried one at this newish Mexican 'fast food' or casual dining place called Burritos n'Blues in Ranelagh. It's really hard to say which Vegetarian burrito is better, Taco Taco's or Burritos n Blues'. but the major diff is that BnB's veggie burrito has grilled vegetables in it (Flame grilled courgette, aubergine, sweet red onion, chillis, red and yellow peppers) and they come swathed in a scrumptious dollop of Mahamarlo's secret Garlic sauce. (I want that recipe!) while Taco Taco used pure raw vegetables.

There's plenty of choice in BnB for the non-vegetarians with unique burritos like the Barbeque burrito, Irish pub Burrito and the Silver Bullet. They also do Quesdillas, Flautas, Nachos and Tacos. Originally Mexican (it's run by a Californian woman with Mexican staff), they make their food fresh and ready to order and all for good value. They also do a 16 oz one called Burrito Grande! Try that and let me know. My only quip is that it's all the way out in Ranelagh and there should be a branch in town.

It's California taste at it's best. Now where to find some good Churro huh?

Smmmoooothiest

Smoothies are awesome. End of story. (Healthier alternative to addictive coffee, perfect cool-down for the tropical/humid weather we've been having, and so delish) But have you noticed that in this rip-off republic which relies heavily on non-competitive business practices, everything big or small, crap or good is priced the same? Regardless of the quality of the product? It's because they know that people have no other choice. No matter what, in the end you have to buy one of the only two varieties of everything that is available here. So even though Zumo has cornered a huge market for smoothies in most parts of Dublin (only cos they were there first), Spar have opened up their very own smoothie and juice bar called Treehouse. Now to prove my point their smoothies (just like smoothies in Zumo, Starbucks, Jump Juice Bar, etc etc) all cost €3.95. Not a cent here and there- hey Nude cafe even charges an extra 15 cent for their range (cos they're so freakin' special don't you know, although must say their Hawaiian Lust is a must).

Now which is better is largely up to personal taste buds, but I find Zumo a bit too smug for their own good. Plus most of their smoothies have a tangy/sour kick which isn't bad but I crave something more. Something sweeter. So I decided to give Treehouse a try and you know what, it's pretty good. If you're tried and bored of Zumo, you'll find Treehouse Juice and Smoothie bar a welcome change. Their smoothies are sweeter and their fruit and juice combination is a bit more inventive. Kiwiana maybe with Kiwi, banana and apple juice. Pinky, which is papaya, melon and orange juice or Juicy Goosey made of gooseberries, and apple juice. All come with frozen yoghurt and they also do a range of juices. The secret to their smoothies is simplicity. Two major fruits and one fruit juice, and vióla!

But the best of all is that Treehouse are now doing specials which means you can get their weekly flavour for only €3! Not only that but you get a loyalty card which you can get stamped every time you buy a (non-special) smoothie and when you are four stamps-full, you get one absolutely free! This automatically makes them way cheaper than Zumo.

I, however, did have one unfortunate experience with a certain Treehouse smoothie, which I'll put down to the certain branch that was serving it, ahem. I won't say where. Let's just say all is forgiven.

July 4th Celebrations

So it being 4th of July n all, the girls decided to have some American food to celebrate! We had intended to go to Captain America's but it was all booked out when we arrived, so instead we decided on TGIF's on St Stephen's Green.

I was craving a hamburger and milkshake, so I decided to try their vegetarian burger. I made the right choice. There was actually a burger between the bread (unlike Bobo's) : mushrooms, carrots, corn, pulse, chilli, rice, potato and coriander in a golden crumb and best of all topped with a really tangy guacamole and Mozzarella cheese, served with salsa. Absolutely yummy with fries and my banana shake. (Not the same as the shakes in Captain America's though which are twice the size and they do a butterscotch flavour, which is like milkshake-heaven, so they get my vote)

M got a regular cheeseburger and MR got a BBQ
cheeseburger with same trimmings and BBQ sauce while Pen decided to be the odd-one-out and went for a steak.

(MR and M wearing black, obviously I was the only one who didn't get the memo)

The food was great but the service was not so good. We had to catch a movie at 8, and we practically gobbled the food down when it finally came because they took practically an hour to serve us.

Although I'm pretty sure most places like these take this same amount of time to prepare and serve (same deal with Pizza Hut and Cap'n Americas) so I guess it wasn't really their fault, we were just in a rush.

I had heard awful reviews about TGI Friday's in Ireland before so I was pleasantly surprised by their food (have to say burgers are much better than the same in Eddie Rocket's and Captain America's) and most of all, the atmosphere. I've always said diners like these don't have the same feel as they do in America, the party atmosphere, huge crowds, young vibe, but TGI Fridays in St Stephen's definitely delivered on the ambiance. Maybe cos it was 4th of July after all.